Since its inception, ArtsNow has been tasked with acting as the connective tissue between businesses and the Summit County creative sector.
That has been a challenging assignment at times, executive director Nichole Mullet admitted, especially given the Akron-based organization’s countywide footprint and the fact that fostering business relationships is one of “about four significant goals,” she said.
And, oh yeah, Mullet has been doing most of it alone as the 4-year-old nonprofit’s only full-time staffer.
“It has been like a constant act of prioritization,” she said. “One of those jobs where you always feel like you are letting somebody down because you just cannot be two places at once or focus on so many different projects simultaneously.”
Mullet now has backup. Earlier this month, Grace Myers began her tenure as ArtsNow’s new corporate and community liaison. In that role, Myers will be responsible for engaging the private sector and working with businesses to see how they might support and utilize local artists and cultural institutions.
Neither being a liaison nor working in Akron is new to the Cuyahoga Falls native. Most recently, Myers was hired as the project coordinator for the eBay Retail Revival program when it swept though the Rubber City last year. She worked closely with the cohort of small businesses chosen by eBay to ensure they had access to community resources available to them, as well as eBay-specific resources.
Before that, Myers launched the startup New Territory, an augmented-reality design studio based in the Bounce Innovation Hub, with her husband, Bill.
“Going into the eBay position, I thought I knew a lot about Akron, but it was a great learning experience,” Myers said. “Even I, as a startup owner, did not realize all the resources and all of the incredible small business owners that exist in this city.”
Myers added that in her new position she looks forward to diving “deeper and deeper” into Akron, connecting not only with corporations but with artists and arts organizations that are businesses in their own right. The role also will help her “branch out,” she said, beyond Akron’s borders into other areas of Summit County.
Meanwhile, having Myers on board frees up Mullet to dive deeper herself — into other ArtsNow projects, according to the executive director. Among those projects are art-based initiatives in Cuyahoga Falls and Barberton and a collaborative program with advocacy organizations from Cuyahoga and Lorain counties that focuses on conveying the importance of art education and supporting art educators.
In addition, ArtsNow is working with an organized group of artists called Vibe Collective to host “resource” workshops that help area creatives with issues such as tax preparation and social media marketing, and to present seminars that explore how art, cultural and environmental forces can work together to address social issues such as inequality. Then there’s the ongoing effort to better understand and communicate the economic impact of the creative sector in Summit County and, more broadly, in Northeast Ohio.
“We don’t need to be lobbyists, but we need to be smart in how we advocate, in the same way that right now a lot of people are advocating for public education,” Mullet said.
Mullet said Myers’ job is primarily funded via a Knight Arts Challenge grant. In 2017, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation awarded ArtsNow a $100,000 matching gift to get the fledgling corporate liaison program off the ground. The foundation released the first half of that gift at the end of last year after ArtsNow raised its $50,000 through cash donations and in-kind support, including new Main Street office space and various pieces of office furniture donated by Summit County.
“We’re in the second year fundraising, although I am extremely optimistic that we can get that done again, and in good measure,” Mullet said. “So many people recognize the value of that connective tissue for the community.”
Today, she added, art and cultural interests have a louder voice in Akron political and economic circles than they did 10 or even five years ago. ArtsNow doesn’t just hear about new development projects or economic initiatives after they have been launched, Mullet said. Her organization has a seat at the table, thanks in large part, she said, to leaders from the city of Akron, the county and the Greater Akron Chamber who understand the role that art and culture plays in making communities a place where businesses want to settle and bring their employees.
“But we still have a lot of work to do, which is why I’m really excited that Grace is going to be tackling this,” said Mullet.
Along with macro issues, such as economic development, Myers said she looks forward to working one-on-one with area businesses. Part of that effort will be to encourage and support the smaller — yet significant — impact they can have by, for instance, commissioning a local painter or sculptor for office artwork, sourcing employee gifts and awards from an area artist or craftsperson, or holding an event at one of Akron’s cultural gems such as the Akron Zoo or Akron Civic Theatre.
“My goal is to meet the businesses where they are at,” Myers said. “We don’t want to force partnerships that are awkward, but with any business there are typically needs for cultural and environmental assets, and we want to be the resource so that business can come to us with those needs.”